<?php
function trim_value(&$value) {
    $value = trim($value);    // this removes whitespace and related characters from the beginning and end of the string
}

function get_keys() {
    $keys = [];
    $keysIn = file('/home/awaldron/_accomods/accokeys.txt');
    foreach ($keysIn as $line) {
        $key = explode('=', $line);
        $keys[$key[0]] = $key[1];
    }
    return $keys;
}